Strictly’s sparkly, skin-tight dresses scared me, says Caroline Flack

Caroline Flack has said she struggled with the skin-tight dresses and high heels worn by dancers when she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing.

The Love Island host and Strictly winner, 39, said the revealing costumes “scared” her when she competed in 2014.

Flack, who lifted the Glitterball Trophy during the 12th series and is returning for this year’s Christmas special, said accommodating costume designers customised her outfits to make her feel more at ease.

Caroline Flack in this year’s Strictly Christmas special (Guy Levy/BBC)

She said: “It used to scare me wearing the sparkly skin-tight dresses and the high heels.

“That used to scare me because it’s not really who I am. Now I am in shorts, trainers and braces, and I was like, ‘woo hoo’.

“I struggled with costumes for the first couple of weeks when I did (the show).

“But the costume department here are so brilliant because when I said ‘oh, it’s too tight around here’ Vicky Gill (costume designer) would put more sequins on it or cover it in tassels.

“They do anything they can to make you feel comfortable. That’s what they are so good at here.

“They don’t go: ‘You’ve got to wear that, and that’s it.’ They will just work around your body, which is really nice.”

Aston Merrygold in the Strictly Christmas special (Guy Levy/BBC)

Flack will dance the Charleston dressed as Pinocchio with professional partner Gorka Marquez on this year’s Christmas special.

It also features the return of six former contestants including Ann Widdecombe and Aston Merrygold.

She said training with Marquez, who was paired with presenter Katie Piper on this year’s series, had reminded her how demanding her time on the show had been.

She said: “I’d forgotten how exhausting it is. Last time I was this exhausted was four years ago.

Ann Widdecombe in the Strictly Christmas special (Guy Levy/BBC)

“It’s been really nice and really funny – Gorka’s really funny. Because it’s Christmas and it’s silly, it’s a silly routine, a Charleston, so it’s just messing around really.”

The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will air on BBC One on Christmas Day at 5.30pm.